New York Stories – 4/5 Stars I read Elizabeth Hardwick’s collected essays earlier this year. I also read her novel Sleepless Nights last year. This is a collection of stories that encompasses about 45-50 years worth of short stories edited and selected by Darryl Pinckney, another novelist and critic who also famously worked with and was friends with Hardwick. I read these stories in a variety of orders, and since they are not part of an intentional collection this blending and mixing up of the […]
Love and other strangenesses
Meet Shannon Mc Farland: in one night, she goes from atop the world to underneath it. Now, as anyone who’s read a Palahniuk novel knows, the problem is not giving away the twist, and dancing around this one is going to be difficult. This novel is about the bonds of love and friendship and the illusion of outward appearances. It touches on desperation, toxic families, and hatred: it does a bit more than flirt with suicide. For those of us with triggers related to drug […]
That “Blah” Feeling When Something Is Objectively Fine But Just Not for You
I don’t know why I keep trying to read books by Chuck Palahniuk. That is not to say that he’s not a good writer, it’s just that his very distinct style and way of telling a story is not for me. I’ve given him a go with a couple of other novels, but I think I’ve just come to realize that while I can see why others might like his work, I just can’t seem to enjoy it. And that’s okay. Though I will say […]
On Myth and Mayhem (A Robert #CBR6 Review)
Call Rant: The Oral Biography of Buster Casey Chuck Palahniuk’s sci-fi epidemic kind-of but not really zombie novel about folklore and the creation of mythical figures. No, really. That’s the best line I can come up with to explain what, exactly, Rant is supposed to be. People are interviewed about Buster “Rant” Casey, a ne’re-do-well country boy who packs up his things at 18 (including millions in stolen gold coins) and brings a small town epidemic to the big city. Or, it’s the novel about […]